some ramble, nails & food porn

Good news! I am now the proud owner of my domain! IT'S MINE! No longer must you slave over the .blogspot when typing in the URL (I know it gives my fingers a break). I am officially eatsimplylivehealthy.com. Boom. 

More good news (what a great day)! No longer do I have to divide my time between Eat Simply. Live Healthy. and my school work! Perplexed? How come, you ask? My new graduate class focuses on social media and self-branding... aka I have to blog for homework! Shucks, this may be the best class ever. Now that I'm assigned to write, I have gotten a bad case of blogger's block. I'm at a loss at what to ramble about...

Well, I got my nails done. The color was called Go Green, but I'm pretty sure that's blue. I thought it was very Easter-ish

In other news, I had a fantastic lunch at my dining hall today! A lot of students knock the cafeteria but I kind of like it....  I also may be biased because I'm a fan of the vegetarian station. I'm aware not everyone is a lover of tofu (or toad food as my friend called it). Below is BBQ marinated tofu over rice and sprinkled with scallions. Come on people, look at that presentation!

And I made pizza for dinner. I quickly realized that my veggie cheese is not an exceptional melter, but I give it 2 thumbs up for taste. I think the spinach gives it a nice touch, dontcha think?

That's all I got, but I think I going to start dabbling in short cooking videos. Thoughts? 

My New Addiction: Cinnamon Apple Straws

I am not a huge fan of Wal-Mart, but am forced to shop there because there isn't a Wegmans or Target within a 100 mile radius of my university; but, I do give them credit for beginning to stock healthier and organic options...which brings me to my new found love: Cinnamon Apple Straws. I found these randomly on a Wal-Mart shopping escapade...so for that (and that reason only) I thank you, Wal-Mart.

No

Yes 

Here are  5  6 reasons why I'm obsessed:

1. 38 straws = a serving (130 kcal).. this makes me happy because I can munch mindlessly without feeling like I'm consuming half of my daily calories
2. The ingredients list impressed me.. usually a snack like this is too good to be true, but the ingredients proved to be very simple and chemical-free; I'm not a chemist and was able to pronounce every ingredient!
3. They're crunchy and sweet.. these little guys satisf my sweet tooth and my craving for something crunchy...it's like a BOGO sale in my mouth
4. They come in a variety of flavors.. if you're not a fan of cinnamon, the same company has veggie and potato straws...perfect to satisfy a sweet starch tooth
5. They're healthy.. yay!, a snack that claims to be good for you that actually is! More, puhhhlese
6. They're college budget friendly.. less than 3 bucks a pop

So that's my plug for the Apple Straws. 

They're nutritious, delicious, and if you polish off a bag by yourself, hey, it's okay. Enjoy licking the cinnamon-y crumbs off your fingers...it's the best part.

Super Simple Summer Squash Spaghetti Recipe

Just when I thought I've exhausted all possible uses for squash, I had a foodie epiphany. Spaghetti! I love spaghetti and I love squash, so why not! It makes me wonder why I didn't think of this sooner. I wasn't a veggie lover as a kid, but if my mom disguised squash as pasta then I would have dived in face first.

What you'll need:
1 Medium yellow squash
Potato peeler or grater
Jar of tomato sauce


Flavor Booster Add- ins
Onion (check)
Zucchini (double check)
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Basil


Initially my roommate and I were going to use a potato peeler, but that utensil isn't high on the college priority list. So, we used a cheese grater. Genius. Below, Emily is doing a wonderful grating the yellow summer squash (compliments of our landlord). We thought her bright pink nail polish was a nice contrast against the yellow of the squash...really brought out that yellow hue.

Emily grated long squash strands until she reached the core of the squash. We're like Indians with buffalo in the sense we don't like to waste the leftover parts of our food, but we couldn't find a use for the squash core. We couldn't wear it or burn it for fuel, so we tossed it. Sigh. We also grated in a zucchini and onion for flavor and color.

We sauteed the "noodles" on low heat while sprinkling in some spices. Yes, it looks like a giant pan of mush, but it's going to taste fantastic.

Once cooked, plate and finally top off with some tomato sauce! Nom. Nom. Nom.

Ps. It tastes awesome and it's really easy to whip up.
Pss. Try this out before the summer squash get frost bitten!

  

Not Your Typical College Kitchen

Tomorrow is my 22nd birthday; the last time my age was a palindrome (spelled the same way front and backwards, like MOM and WOW) was 11...next 33!..AH! Where does the time go. I swear, after this tomorrow my age will reverse with each coming birthday (like Benjamin Button). Woo, can't wait to be 21 again next year!

Anyways. It's always an adjustment when I go back to school. I like my summer routine and am always anxious to get back into one once I start classes. Since this is syllabus week, I have a lot of time on my hand = a lot of blog posts.

While at college, I try my best to maintain a well-rounded, healthy diet. Our landlord (god bless him) has a garden which we're welcome to; so though I've been torn away from my backyard supermarket (tear), I still have access to fresh veggies! Hooray! And I must say that his garden makes mine look minuscule; his garden means business and I'm so thankful to benefit from it. 

Below is our refrigerator. Being the beginning of the year, it's a tad sparse; but, I have to say it's a pretty healthy college fridge. All of the green beans, zucchini, and squash are from our land lord's garden. And I've recently have had an obsession with Greek yogurt (hence the overstock over Oikos in the fridge) and agave nectar. It's like dessert for breakfast and who doesn't want dessert.

  

My other obsession? Salad. Doesn't sound too exciting, but I've been adding garden tomatoes, zucchini and green beans (ah so fresh) and mixing those with my organic spinach. Then topping it off with some fat-free Italian, S&P, oregano, and basil.  Heaven.

A masterpiece good enough to eat, and I think I will.

The rest of my cooking will be simplified and more easy-peasy since my resources are limited being at school and all, but...they all shall be delicious. Pinky promise.

Monday Yumday: Marinated Veggies

In attempts to mimic our role models on Food Network, my roommate and I are starting to get crafty in the kitchen. We're attempting to plan our meals ahead of time in hopes to eat healthier when we come back from class ravenous. 

One easy food tip I learned in college: dressing makes a great and cheap marinade. I also learned that you can basically marinade anything. Hence, our craftiness. Italian dressing + Vegetables = Greatness

We marinated onions, squash, and a giant zucchini in Italian dressing overnight. Simple. I sauteed mine along with a few green beans and batta bing batta boom, dinner. It's not rocket science, but it's simple which makes its a quick and delicious meal. Pair it with chicken, whole wheat pasta or savory by itself. Yum. Gosh, I love vegetables. 

Our next planned meal is yellow squash spaghetti from scratch. Stay tuned, y'all.

  

The Scary Side of the College Cafeteria

Forget what you know about the happy-go-lucky tales of a Bob and Larry. This gruesome tale is about vicious vegtables on steroids and...with vampire fangs (sounds more like the Twilight Zone than Twilight, and you're right). So last week, I went to my school's dining hall for some laxative-infused grub. Thought it would be a positive experience, enjoyable even. No. Above is the sheer madness I encountered--- a picture of the nutritional value of a (*gasp*) vegetarian item....


Here are a few comments (not calories *cough-cough*) I would like to interject:

(1) 3,770 calories is more calories than Michael Phelps eats at dinner time (Yes, I looked it up), and not to burst anyones hopes and dreams, but I don't think we're all gold medalist swimmers.

(2) I now know why my school is in the middle of a rainy season....to negate all that sodium

(3) It makes you wonder how many calories are in the non-vegetarian dishes!...What are we? A pack of wolves? (oh, wait...)

(4) The real reason for the Freshman 15 500

(5) and finally my last plea...why, dining hall, why. As stressed out students, we already eat enough of our feelings. No need to encourage us, we got it under control.


I am all for eating healthy, but beware--not all vegetarian meals are people friendly (unless you're Michael Phelps). Remember: Not all Veggie Tales end happily

Food Labels: Keep it Simple

I never watched what I ate until the beginning of my sophomore year in college. Not that I downed boxes of Twinkies (though I'm sure I could have), but I was one of those people at our school's dining hall who needed a slice of pizza as a warm-up while paroozing the other food options. I was the epitome of a foodie. I still live the happy life of a food-lover, but I've learned to indulge more simply.  

My eye-opening experience was:
(1) I found out I was lactose-intolerant (so 4-cheese pizza and I were no longer on good terms); and
(2) a shopping experience at Wal-Mart (sadly, no Wegmans close by) with my boyfriend.

My boyfriend, who at the time was (& still is) Mr. Organic, and I initiated our shopping adventure aisle by aisle. We landed upon the frozen foods. I, trying to impress him, picked out frozen smoothie mix. Healthy, right? WRONG. You would think a 3-berry smoothie mix would contain berries, correct? He showed me the ingredients: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, trioxygliceride, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, rat poison, dirty diapers, tiger blood, etc. Gross. Then he showed me a frozen strawberries package, ingredients: strawberries. That's it. From that day on, I read food labels.

My goal when shopping: try not to buy something that includes ingredients you can't pronounce. Think about it. All that shit and tiger blood are going in your body, and no one wants to be like Charlie Sheen. #winning